laptop w/wireless

[brokenarrowjbe]

the valentine's day approaches, my wife needs a laptop w/wireless capabilities. Any feedback? My hospital has a deal w/Dellfor a discount. Is dual core useful? I don't think I can shoot a rabbit w/it, but she needs it for school. Thanks, John

[nyairman]

Hey John, whats your price range. With laptops, you DO NEED an EXTENDED WARRANTY. Personally I do not like Dell, HP, or Lenovo Laptops that sell for under $750. I would buy a Dual Core machine. I do like Toshiba lap tops but again you want an extended warranty whether it be from the dealer you bought it from or from the manufacture. Usually the manufacturer will offer you an extended warranty when the original one is about to expire. The biggest problem with laptops these days is power cords, and the power cord input . Power cord inputs are built into the motherboards on laptops . If they fail....guess what...you need a new MOTHERBOARD :emoticon:  
Shop around and remember you get what you pay for especially when it comes to laptops. I would stay away from AMD and choose a genuine Intel Dual-Core machine for a lap-top. There's  been alot of buzz with the Windows Vista OS. Yes,...it has issues. Mostly with printers not working and not being compatable with some older software BUT.. it is a very good OS and I would recommend it for old/new users who want to take the next step in PC computing. Just my 2...er...7...er...OK alot of $

Greg

[brokenarrowjbe]

looking at the xps 1530, price w/customization around 1300 after employee discount or whatever they call it, comes w/wireless router but how to set up w/windtream the only dsl available here, etc. Will check w/the techies at work and see thanks, John

[Nexweb]

The Dell XPS line is usually aimed towards people who need a lot of power and who like to play games with 3D graphics. If that isn't the case with your wife you could probably get a laptop from their Inspiron line like the Inspiron 1525 and that would be more than good enough and you would save some $ to buy more toys for yourself =) Just make sure whatever machine you get has at least 2GB of ram and dual core too (dual core allows you to open up lots of programs at the same time and not have the computer slow down). As said above getting warranty for a laptop is important, they aren't like regular desktops that can be repaired pretty cheaply. Wireless should be easy to set up and I'm sure the techies at your work should be able to help you up. Just make sure they also help you secure it! Otherwise your neighbor or some malicious person could steal your internet as well as other things.

Really depends on what her intended use is.  For mobility I love my Asus, for all around my 4 year old XP Compaq still works fine and my dual core Lenova with Vista I have yet to get used to.

mobility

http://picasaweb.google.com/huklbery/AsusEee

I would not recommend it as the only machine in the house but for $399 its great for internet use.

Cheers
Mark

[brokenarrowjbe]

My Components 1729.00 Is this fair? thanks John
Ruby Red
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5450 (1.66GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition
High Resolution, glossy widescreen 17.0 inch display (1920 x 1200)
256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT
3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
Size: 160GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
CD / DVD writer (DVD+/-RW Drive)
Dell Wireless 1505 Wireless-N Mini-card
Built-in Bluetooth capability (2.0 EDR)
Integrated 2.0 Megapixel Webcam
85Whr Lithium Ion Battery (9 cell)
High Definition Audio 2.0
My Software & Accessories
Trend Micro Internet Security 36-months
Microsoft Works 8. DOES NOT INCLUDE MS WORD
Yahoo! Music Jukebox - Music Player
Netgear WGR614 54Mbps Wireless-G Router
My Service
Get $75 in Dell dollars with 4 yr LTD Warranty and At-Home Service
Included 3 GB DataSafe Online Backup for 1Yr
No ISP requested
Also Includes
Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 8.1
Windows Vistaâ„¢ Premium
Intel® Core™2 Duo Label
Premium Deep Rich Red with Soft Touch LCD back color w/ 2.0M pixel Camera
Inspiron 1720
No Entertainment software pre-installed

[leftcoast1]

down side to vista is you have to buy the microsoft office software. cheapest is 160.00. the laptop sounds like a good deal. It has good hardware plus you have all the hardware to get you started. good luck

If you want a nice inexpensive machine i will try and get you one $500!  pentium dual core compaq brand new in the box.  BB had these on sale but sold out a few stores may have one i will check it out.

leftcoast1 - 1/26/2008  5:40 PM

down side to vista is you have to buy the microsoft office software. cheapest is 160.00. the laptop sounds like a good deal. It has good hardware plus you have all the hardware to get you started. good luck

Open Office works fairly well, about on par with office 97.  Most simple documents and spreadsheets can be saved and read well with Office 2003 and below. The price is right at 0$  just download from openoffice.org.  

Cheers
Mark

[Gene_SC]

Buy a Dell, they are far more superior and the quality control is of high standards. Plus service is outstanding. I have owned and bought millions of dollars of Dell products in the past and you cannot go wrong with there service and quality. Just my 2 cents.. Gene

[brokenarrowjbe]

done deal, could not beat the hospital deal. thanks, John